


Dash of Sugar

by EmmaKeladry



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Culmets - Freeform, Cute Date, Fluff, Holodeck, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post Season 2, Romance, SpaceBoos, date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 16:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20212441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaKeladry/pseuds/EmmaKeladry
Summary: Hugh attempts to cheer Paul up when he’s in a super grouchy mood by a very unusual tactic. Baking cookies.Post season 2, minimal spoilers.





	Dash of Sugar

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aphelyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aphelyon/gifts).

> Just a sweet little post-reunion date with an idea that came to me a few weeks back! I hope that you like it. Please forgive any mistakes - this is un-beta'd.
> 
> Dedicated to my sweet, sweet Laf. If I lived closer to you, I'd make you some chocolate chip cookies to cheer you up!

“How’re you feeling?” Hugh set down his medical scanner on the bio-bed and smiled warmly at his partner.

“I’m fine,” Paul grumbled, shaking his head. He crossed his arms over his chest as the corners of his mouth turned down. “I should’ve seen that cargo container before it hit me in the head.”

“It could’ve happened to anyone.”

“Oh, so you’ve recently been hit in the head by a twenty-pound cargo container, full of scanners and diagnostic tools? And in front of six members of your department?” Paul moved to stand up and head back to Engineering, even though he only wore his undershirt and pants since his uniform jacket had blood and vomit on it. “I should get back to work.”

Hugh gently grabbed his wrist with one hand. He brushed the small pink spot on Paul’s forehead, feeling the tender, newly healed skin. “You had a concussion, were unconscious and you threw up on yourself. You’re excused from duty for the rest of the day. Doctor’s orders.” He cupped Paul’s cheek in his hand and used his thumb to softly rub the beginnings of stubble from two days of growth. He smiled as Paul’s cheeks turned pink and the color slowly went down his neck. “How about you go back to our quarters, shower, and take a nap? It’s my turn to plan our date tonight and I have an idea that might make you feel better.”

Paul didn’t argue. They’d been working hard on their relationship since they’d been flung forward in time. Discovery was still exploring their new space, but things were a bit slow. That was how Paul ended up reorganizing a cargo bay for the second time and how the container fell on his head, injuring him.

Hugh kissed him gently, putting his other hand on Paul’s stubbly cheek. Paul left out a soft moan when the kiss ended. “I’ll see you in two hours. Promise.” He leaned in close, whispering in Paul’s ear. “Wear something comfortable.”

Paul’s blush deepened and he mumbled something about taking a shower as he left the medbay.

Hugh saw Doctor Pollard across the medbay and hurried over to her. “Tracy, can you do me a favor? I know you have plans on the holodeck tonight, but I need to cheer up Paul and –”

“You don’t need to say another word. My time is your time.” She patted his shoulder and headed toward the nearest bed.

“Thank you. I owe you one.”

“You do. I’ll collect when needed. Have fun!” Tracy waved a hand above her head as she headed to the office area.

Hugh went to his terminal and pulled up the holodeck files, searching for the one he was thinking of. It took some scanning to find it. He smiled, touching the screen and opening it up. After changing a few of the parameters, Hugh saved the file and uploaded it to Tracy’s time slot, which she’d already changed to his name. She was very efficient. Hugh hoped the last two hours of his shift went quickly; he had an adorable grouchy man to cheer up.

*~*~*

Only ten minutes late. Hugh stepped into their quarters, pulling off his uniform jacket and throwing it on the sofa. Paul lay flopped out on the sofa, holding one of Hugh’s books in his hand. His bare toes stuck out of his long grey sweatpants, which Hugh quickly realized belonged to him, not Paul. His hair was slightly messed up on one side where he rested his hand. He didn’t move when the door slid open or when Hugh sat down beside him. Paul ran his fingers along the edge of the page before flipping the page.

“How’re you feeling?” Hugh pulled off his boots and dropped them to the floor.

Paul gave him a soft hum of content. He was clearly already less grouchy and more relaxed than before. That boded well for Hugh’s special date.

“What are you reading?” he asked, resting his hand on Paul’s thigh to get his attention.

“Your dirty book about the sexy doctor and the sexy nurse, who save lives together and do naughty things to each other.” Paul smirked, finally looking over at him. “Fine. You don’t own one of those books. But I bet if you ask Saru would be able to write you one! Tilly and I have a bet that he secretly writes dirty fanfiction stories on the Bridge when he does overnight shifts.”

Hugh laughed and gently swatted Paul’s ass. “He does not.”

“There’s a chapter in here about that,” Paul teased, referring to the gentle smack.

“Not so discreetly changing the subject, but I just need to shower quick and I’ll be ready for our date.”

Paul wrinkled his nose. “What is it? Do I need to get dressed up?” He gestured to Hugh’s old Starfleet Medical t-shirt. Damn, Hugh loved when Paul wore his clothes.

“You look amazing, just as you are.” Hugh leaned in and gently kissed him, pulling away before anything happened.

Paul sighed and pouted. “Tease. What if that’s how I wanted this date to go?”

“It’s not your turn to pick the date.” Hugh stood up and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower before their date. He didn’t want to bring any potential germs any closer to his love.

After showering, Hugh stepped out and changed into his softest black sweats and a tank top, noting that Paul’s eyes focused on his revealed shoulders as he moved around the room, picking up a few of Paul’s abandoned clothing from the day. Paul watched him, silently. When Hugh crossed in front of the couch, Paul grabbed his wrist and used it to pull himself to standing and in the same movement, pulling Hugh so their bodies were flush against each other. Paul kissed him, gently at first and then slipping his hands behind Hugh’s neck and cradling his head.

“Now that’s the proper way to greet someone you love.” Paul kept his mouth an inch from Hugh’s but pulled away before Hugh could return the kiss.

“Tease,” Hugh mirrored. “But that’s okay. You’re distracting me from our date and it’s very special to me. Are you ready?”

Without waiting for him to answer, Hugh slipped his hand into Paul’s and gave him a tight squeeze. They started to walk down the corridor. Hugh led without telling Paul where they were going, which he could tell was bothering Paul a bit, but he didn’t say anything.

Paul paused. “I’m not wearing shoes.”

“You don’t need to wear shoes on this date.”

The confusion on his face was adorable, but Paul didn’t argue. His frown had begun to set back in as they walked down the corridor. Hugh guided him to the holodeck. They passed a few familiar faces in the corridor, but none of them said anything other than offered a soft smile to the couple, respecting their off-duty clothing and outward display of affection, which wasn’t there much, but very present since they’d been reunited. Hugh stopped them outside the holodeck and activated the holodeck file he’d prepared. Paul tried to see the title, but Hugh had cleverly titled it “Culber, Date Grumpy Love #3”. Paul scowled at the words on the screen but didn’t protest.

The program took a moment to prepare. Paul shifted his bare feet on the cold deck-plating. Okay, maybe Paul did need shoes, but it would be better once they stepped inside. The doors opened, admitting them to the holodeck and the environment changed to warmth and sunshine. A kitchen, complete with brightly colored mixing bowls and baking supplies, spread across the granite countertop, walls painted yellow and sunshine streaming in an old styled windowed. A fresh breeze blew across the room, stirring up the pages of the paperbound book on the counter. The fridge had a vibrant display, showing all that was inside. Paul released Hugh’s hand as he walked around the kitchen island, looking at the things. His toes scrunched up the rug by the kitchen sink. Hugh hoped his feet weren’t cold anymore.

“I don’t understand,” Paul said softly. “Why?”

Hugh put his hands on Paul’s hips and gently moved him toward the bowls and the open book. He adjusted the page and Paul realized it was a recipe book. “Chocolate chip cookies. My favorite recipe that my grandmother used to make. I adjusted it so it feels like we’re making them, not a replicator. I wanted to bake cookies with you.”

“To bake cookies? That’s your idea of a date?”

Hugh didn’t say anything but started moving around the room and grabbing all the ingredients on the sheet. Paul watched him, crossing his arms over his chest and looking a bit withdrawn, unsure about this date. Hugh didn’t press him. He knew better than to force Paul to open up when he wasn’t ready. He started by preparing the cups of flour for the bowl. The white powder spread across the counter as he scooped it. Oops.

His most favorite sound reached his ears as Paul laughed at him. He moved closer to Hugh and showed him how to carefully scoop up the flour without the breeze making a mess of it. Paul rested his hand on top of Hugh’s, dumping it with him into the bright red bowl. Hugh glanced over his shoulder and received a soft kiss in response. Paul brushed some flour on Hugh’s nose, laughing at his confused expression.

Hugh smiled. “Okay, you can lead. What next?”

Using the cup, Paul scooped the sugar into the bowl and kept Hugh’s hand beneath his. Hugh licked his fingers and stuck them into the sugar. Paul opened his mouth, no doubt to make a comment about that being unhygienic, but before he could make a comment, Hugh popped his fingers into Paul’s mouth. He made a soft sound of delight as he sucked the sugar from Hugh’s fingers. Paul hummed low, causing his own cheeks to turn pink.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t apologize for being adorable.” Hugh kissed him, licking the remainder of the sugar off of Paul’s lips and savoring the sweet taste of his kiss.

They followed the recipe to the T, after Paul made a comment about them both being doctors and that they should be able to bake cookies from scratch. Hugh poured in the chocolate chips last and mixed them with the wooden spoon. Paul stuck his fingers in and grabbed a chunk with a chocolate chip and popped it into his mouth.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to eat cookie dough,” Hugh said, turning to face him.

“It’s the holodeck. I won’t get food-poisoning and if I do, I know a doctor who makes house calls and will take care of me.” Paul wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer.

“Oh, I don’t know. He might have another engagement tonight and be unavailable to care for you.”

Using their hands, they rolled the dough into balls and placed them on the cookie sheet. Hugh prepped the oven. Paul placed them inside and leaned against the counter to wait for them to bake. Hugh started cleaning up the flour mess on the counter.

“It’s the holodeck. Why are you cleaning up?” Paul crossed his arms over his chest, but a smile stayed on his face.

“Oh, I don’t like to leave a mess.”

“I’ve seen how you leave your clothes around our quarters.”

In one swift movement, Hugh scooped up some flour with hand and tossed it in Paul’s direction, spreading white powder on his clothes and peppering his blond hair. A look of incredulous surprise appeared on Paul’s face and he gasped.

“You didn’t,” Paul said.

“Oh, I did.” Hugh ran around the other side of the island as Paul dove both hands into the flour and threw as much of it as he could at him.

White powder from the flour and sugar flew across the room, along with a little bit of brown sugar and one accidentally tossed egg. Laughter filled the room. Hugh ducked as Paul threw more sugar at him and it got in his mouth as he laughed. The vanilla spilled all over the counter and the sweet scent mixed with the smell of the baking cookies. Hugh dashed to Paul’s side of the counter and wrapped his arms around him from behind. Paul laughed, trying to grab the mostly empty bag of flour. His fingers found a spot and he lifted it, dumping the remainder of the flour on himself and Hugh. Hugh gasped, spitting the white from his lips with no avail. Paul turned around to see his love coated in powder. He laughed and kissed him, despite the flour. He ran his fingers through Hugh’s hair, brushing flour from his locks. Hugh put on hand behind his back, pressing their bodies tight against each other, deepening the kiss until both of them needed to breath.

“I love you, even though you got flour in my mouth,” Hugh muttered.

“I love you, even though you threw an egg at me.” Paul tried to brush the flour off of Hugh’s face with his thumb.

“I thought you threw the egg.”

They both laughed and leaned in to kiss again. The timer went off above the oven. Paul squealed and jumped up and down. Hugh used the potholder to open the oven and remove the tray of cookies. They smelled amazing. Paul grabbed a towel and helped Hugh clean up a little bit as the cookies cooled down enough for them to eat.

“I needed this,” Paul whispered, dumping a handful of flour into the trash.

Hugh took his hand and squeezed it. “You did. You were a bit grumpy earlier. I love you for who you are, no matter what.” Hugh picked up a cool cookie from the counter and held it up.

Paul opened his mouth and let Hugh feed him a bite. He hummed in pleasure as the warm chocolate melted on his tongue. Hugh took a bite himself.

“Delicious.” Hugh fed Paul another bite, wiping at the chocolate in the corner of his mouth. “How about we take these cookies back to our quarters and take a nice, hot shower? I feel like we are a bit messy.”

“I love that plan.” Paul picked up another cookie and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. “’m ready.”

Hugh laughed and did the same. The computer beamed them both back to their quarters, to prevent spreading their cookie mess throughout the ship. Hugh and Paul showered and spent the rest of their date, cuddling in bed and kissing every part of each other that had been touched by the flour.


End file.
